Always
by aca-avenger
Summary: Since the birth of their daughter Sofia, the lives of Arizona and Callie have changed. This is a series of twenty-six oneshots about their future as a family. I hope you all enjoy!
1. A: Atlantic City

As you all know I'm really trying to get back into writing again, and as a result I've decided to write my way through the alphabet. I will be writing a oneshot bases on a prompt that starts with each letter of the alphabet to do so. This may take me a while but I hope y'all will enjoy it anyhow. Thanks for your support as always (:

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><p>"Arizona, how can you say that you've never been to Atlantic City?" I exclaim, truly surprised by her confession. We always seemed to have random interesting conversations when I was preparing a meal.<p>

"Well excuse me, Miss I've been anywhere you can think of. I can't say that I have been to Atlantic City because I haven't." Arizona says as she picks Sofia up out of her playpen, playing with her toes making her laugh in the process. "Yeah, you tell Mommy she's being silly. Yeah you tell her."

"Well, Miss Marine Brat, you've claimed to have to live in over twenty states so I would have guessed that Jersey would have been on the list somewhere. Plus it's like a less than three hour drive from Baltimore where you lived for like five years. I also would have guessed that you and a bunch of friends would have jumped at the chance to have a couple of days of crazy fun. Considering the stories I've heard," I mumble off, causing me to receive a glare visible out of the corner of my eye that I couldn't help but find absolutely adorable.

But in what seemed like milliseconds later her expression changes.

"That was before, before." She attempts to finish her sentence but painfully can't. I look up from the pot on the stove I had been stirring. My eyes meet hers; they're beginning to tear up, slightly distorting their breathtaking shade of blue.

I quickly withdraw my spoon from the pot, placing it on the counter. Carefully I make my way around the island, approaching Arizona as she tears her eyes away from mine. I can see her tightening her already firm hold on Sofia, trying in vain to find comfort and to forget. I bring myself in front of her, wrapping my arm firmly around her petite waist, placing my other hand on her arm that is wrapped around Sofia.

"Arizona," I slowly rub my wife's back hoping my usual trick for getting her to come out of reliving painful memories will work. "Arizona, look at me. Please."

She gradually looks up from Sofia's shoes. Her once slightly teary eyes are now surprisingly bloodshot and tears are streaming down her fragile porcelain face. "I, I" She is once again is unable to speak.

"I'm sorry. It's okay, baby, it's okay." I place a kiss on her forehead, then a matching one on Sofia's. "I know it hurts but you've got to remember that when your brother was alive he had a great life. You can't remember him by the way he died, you should remember him by his life. And he would want you to live life to the fullest again, baby. Not just because you're his sister but because you deserve to."

"I know," she says as she buries her head into the crook of my neck, causing Sofia to let out yet another laugh. "I know but it's just hard sometimes. When I think about him, I think about the times that I know that if he was here that he wouldn't be proud of me. I think about how stupid I was walking away from you and hurting you so badly. I think about how I could have lost you for good and,"

I don't allow her finish her sentence, I could tell exactly where it was going and I definitely didn't like it. "I'm right here. You didn't lose me, or Sofia, and we are not going anywhere that isn't with you." I pull her close as I possibly can with Sofia between us. "You tell Momma that it's okay to live again, okay? You tell her." I say tickling Sofia slightly in order to get a response out of her.

Of course, Sofia laughs her infectious laugh causes Arizona too to chuckle. I can feel her laughing against my chest. "Did you mean it?" She says, her voice reflecting her vulnerability.

"Did I mean what?" There were numerous things that she could have been referring to throughout our relationship and I didn't even know where to start.

"That you wouldn't have children if it meant that you had me." Her response is rushed, the words sprinting out of her mouth as a result of what appears to be fear.

"Arizona, I" They're the only words I get out of my mouth before she interrupts me.

"I'm not finished." She says softly. "I meant that if I hadn't gone to Africa then Sofia wouldn't be here. And as stupid as I was for going, I'm glad I did because if I didn't we wouldn't have Sofia, and I love Sofia, I do. But I just want to know if I hadn't gone, if I had stayed and gone through my original plan of asking you to marry me on your birthday, would I have been enough for you? If we didn't have Sofia already, would you still have said yes?"

She looks up at me, the redness in her eyes is now beginning to fade and the clarity of her blue irises is beginning to return. Even with these changes, the fear is still there; the fear, the worry, the doubt, it was all still there.

"Arizona," I brush her hair out of her eyes, tucking a piece behind her ear before placing my hand on her cheek. "Baby, you were always way more than enough. I just didn't know it until it was almost too late. If we had had Sofia or not, I would always have said yes. You could have asked me the day my father disowned me, when you were combing out the vomit in my hair because I had to give that speech, that night in the elevator when both of our resolve slipped, when we were in the OR together and you tried to talk to me about Africa. Any of those times I would have said yes, because no matter how hard I tried while you were gone, I can't stop loving you, and I never will."

Arizona lets go of Sofia with one arm, fully knowing my support will still keep her safe. She wraps it around my waist, absentmindedly tracing patterns on the small section of exposed skin just above my hip. "Thank you." She whispers in my ear as she once again lays her head on my shoulder.

"For what, baby?" I say, running my fingers through Arizona's hair as I tighten my hold on the two most important people in my life.

She places a chaste kiss on the base of my neck before answering my question. "For saying yes and for loving me."

"I could never do anything but." I can't help but breathe in the rapturous scent that was Arizona. "How about you, me, and the kid take a trip to Atlantic City, huh? We can bring Sofia to the beach, you can play as much poker you want like you used to, and we can watch the sunset from the best view in Jersey. What do you think?"

"As long as I'm with you," she gives me yet another soft kiss, "And you." She giggles before giving Sofia a kiss on the forehead. "I'll go anywhere."


	2. B: Baby

No matter how much the fact she changed her mind surprises me, it is this moment right here that truly shocks me.

"I want to have another baby." Arizona's words take me out of the daydream I had been having. I lift my gaze from the coffee table to Arizona who is sitting reading a magazine next to me. She closes the booklet, tossing it on the table before turning her body towards me pull her feet up onto the couch.

I take a sip from coffee cup I had in my hands, unable to come up with a verbal response to Arizona's statement. As I do I can't tear my eyes away from Arizona's, I can't help but hope I'll find sincere honesty there. And I do. There is no fear or doubt, there is only love.

"Calliope," she says, placing her hand on my arm, bringing her face closer to mine. Her face is warm, content yet concerned smile on display.

"Are you sure?" I answer involuntarily; the words basically flow out of my mouth without any input conscious input from my brain.

"I." She pauses for a moment, "Why wouldn't I be?" Arizona's eyes change, the certainty of her words is still there but I can see emotion bordering on anger flickering beneath it.

Sofia was now a little more than nine months old and was making fantastic process. Despite her early birth she was keeping up with those in daycare that were her age. She had crawling down pat and loved to cruise around the apartment on all fours. Arizona frequently tucked into her childish side and chased Sofia around the apartment.

"Arizona, you asked me less than half a year ago if you would have been enough for me if we hadn't had Sofia. And I told you that you would have been, because it was true. I kind of took that as you backing out on giving me those ten kids you said you wanted." My surprise is easily detected in my tone; I truly had thought that Sofia would be it for us, especially after what Arizona had to go through after the accident, dealing with both me and Sofia.

She doesn't get the chance to reply; we're interrupted by a cry from Sofia's monitor sitting on the coffee table. She doesn't say anything; she simply looks at me as if to ask a question. We had been trying to get Sofia to sooth herself to sleep; we had been trying this for the past two weeks but Arizona's resolve was slowly slipping. She hated to hear children crying, even more so when it was Sofia. The look on Arizona's face, the pain and worry in her eyes was setting my emotions on fire. I nod, signalling that it was okay for her to check on her.

Arizona pulls her legs out from under her, pushing herself up off the couch. "We're not done with this conversation." She says surprisingly enough with a smile on her face. "I'll be right back." She places a kiss on my forehead before heading towards Sofia's room.

The closer Arizona got to her room, the louder Sofia's cries became. It was obvious she was becoming very impatient. "Hey baby girl." Arizona's voice is now coming from the monitor. Sofia lets out a more content squeal in response. "What's wrong, boo?" I can't help but smile at Arizona's use of the nickname she came up with for Sofia. "Oh no wonder you were crying, come here."

I can't sit still here alone anymore; I push myself up off the couch and make my way to Sofia's room. I stop at the doorframe of Sofia's room. I'm met with the sight of Arizona holding Sofia in her arms putting cream on her face. "There you go, is that better baby?" Sofia lets out a giggle before tugging on a piece of Arizona's hair.

"Hey, what did I say about pulling on Momma's hair? We don't to that remember." I say with a smirk as walk into the room. "What was the matter baby girl?" I say, wrapping my arm around Arizona's waist before blowing a raspberry on my daughter's arm.

"She scratched her face here," Arizona point out a scratch just below my daughter's left cheekbone, "and here." And then points out another one on her chin.

"It's a good thing you've got your Momma to take care of you, huh Sof?" I place a kiss on Arizona's temple. "It's time to go back to bed now sweetie, okay?"

Arizona places a kiss on Sofia's forehead before slowly putting her back into her crib. "Goodnight sweetie, I love you." She whispers, running her fingers through Sofia's hair before bringing herself back into my arms.

"Can you tell me why now?" I ask as I begin to lead her out of our daughter's room. I bring her to the couch, she takes a seat in my lap and I wrap my arms around her waist. "Why now when Sofia's still so young?"

She takes a deep breath, taking my hand in her own before answering me. "Because there was a little less than two years between me and Timothy and it was great. I loved being a big sister and since there was somewhat small age difference between us we got along really well. So I think the smaller the age difference if we were to have more children would be better. Plus if we wait too long then when Sofia gets older what is going to think? That she was just practice and we just wanted to see if I messed her up or not? I don't"

"Arizona, I" I have to interrupt her because the pain in her voice is unbearable but she doesn't me finish my own sentence.

"Don't Arizona me. I don't want her to ever feel that way. I may not be exactly happy about how she came to be but that doesn't matter, all that matters is her. She's perfect Calliope, except for that darn Sloan nose," She chuckles before wiping away the tears I had only now noticed flowing down her cheek, "she's all you. She's got your eyes and smile. When she gets old she's old her attitude is going to be just like yours, I can tell already. She's already picked up your devilish grin."

"Oh no, I don't think so! She's going to have her Momma's super magic smile and is always going to be turning me to goo." I find myself taking advantage of the fact my wife is wearing a tank top, placing a kiss between her bare shoulder blades. "So much for being a badass, huh?"

I'm rewarded with the sound of Arizona's laughter, "You'll always be my badass." She turns slightly so that she's able to wrap her arms around my waist, laying her head on my chest.

"Thank you," I say, absentmindedly playing with the hem of her shirt "for being right and for being awesome."

Once again I'm delighted to hear the divine sound that is my wife's laughter, "I told you I was."

I only now realize that her tears have not ceased and are now proceeding to dampen my shirt. It was truly painful to see her cry, just as much as it was to see Sofia do the same, it always tore at my heart and plagued my mind hours after it subsided. No matter how long ago it was, the sight of unhappy tears falling from Arizona's eyes always brought back the memory of the day I put myself between her and the gun of Gary Clarke; the day I realized that she was and would always be enough for me. It always brought back the memory of how scared and destroyed she was by his presence. It was that memory, no matter how painful and terrifying it was, that made my life worth living. It was that memory that made my purpose in life very clear; to protect and to treasure the woman I loved.

"Would you consider it?" Her voice is quiet and childlike; as if she was a child asking if she was in trouble.

I open my mouth to answer but she quite frankly doesn't give me the slightest opportunity to, she just keeps on talking. "I want you to get the feeling I get every time I look at Sofia. I know that you think that it's no different than the feeling you get, but it is Calliope. Every time I look at her it's like, like I'm looking at you and seeing everything I love about you all over again. It's like falling in love with you all over again. If we had another child I know that I'll love them just as much as I love Sofia, you know that, but I truly want you to feel what I feel every time I look at her. I just,"

"Okay." I say but surprisingly enough she continues to talk to me, causing a smile to creep slowly across my lips.

"Believe that you deserve to get to feel that way Calliope. I'll do all the work this time I promise, I'll put up with all the heartburn and no coffee, wait." She stops midsentence realizing I had responded. She leans forward, turning her body so that she's looking me straight in the face. "What did you just say?"

"I said okay." I let my smile spread fully across my face, giving her the devilish grin I knew she loved.

"Okay?" The look on her face is one I will never forget; the hope in her eyes, the pure happiness in her smile, the look of pure adoration.

I simply nod in response, before I get the chance to say anything in response Arizona's lip collide with my own. I can't help but moan slightly at the unique taste of her lips mixed with the taste of her strawberry-kiwi lip balm. She carefully slips her hand up my shirt, gently running her fingers back and forth over the scar that was on my stomach from Sofia's birth. My skin automatically becomes covered in goose bumps at the feeling of her fingers on my skin. Soon after she pulls away giving me my favourite full out dimpled smile.

"You are so beautiful." She says slowly, accenting each word with a kiss on my jaw line working her way back up to my lips once again.

"Look who's talking" I say with a chuckle.

"I see your point" She lets out a giggle before shifting her weight slightly.

"And I definitely now see yours." I once again wrap my arms around her waist. "I want to have the chance of getting to look into your eyes no matter where you are when I look at them. I want to have the chance to feel the way you do about Sofia with them. I want a little boy with your blonde curls and protective ways or a little girl with your super magic smile and ability to always make me feel better no matter what. I want that so bad but I just didn't think it would ever happen."

At my own words my emotions begin to get the better of me, causing tears to roll down my cheek. Arizona turns around as if she could sense the tears. "Of course it would have, and it will. I promise."

"We're having another baby." I can't help but say it out loud; it makes it all the more real.

Arizona grins at me; the love in her eyes makes butterflies soar in my stomach just like they did the first time I saw her. "We're having another baby." She says, turning back around so she fits perfectly back in my arms. With that whatever doubt I had been feeling vanishes, leaving love and adoration behind. And that is all I need to send me straight into the land of sleep.


	3. C: Christmas

Hello all, I'm very pleased and excited with your feedback on the last two so thank you very much for that. It definitely made my day! As you have noticed, in my stories Callie is definitely more affectionate, I write her that way because in my head I see her that way. I just think that in the show she's always trying to be a badass and prove to everybody that she's okay and can do whatever she puts her mind to so we don't get to see that side of her very often but I strongly believe that it's still there in between scenes. Anyhow, that's my ramble for the day. Also _italics are flashbacks_. I hope y'all enjoy!

**Christmas**

The weather in Seattle for the twenty fourth of December, there was about three feet of snow covering the ground instead of the usual two inches of slush. It was making Sofia's first Christmas even more special.

Calliope had gone overboard on the decorating and had made the apartment into a winter wonderland. Christmas lights were strung across the fireplace mantel, the breakfast bar, and around every door frame in the apartment. The top of the kitchen cupboards was outlined with tree branches decorated with holly plants. The largest Christmas tree possible to fit in our apartment was set up in the living room next to the fireplace. It was covered in shiny red bulbs, white lights, and the traditional strings of popcorn. I remember walking into the apartment for the first time after Calliope had decorated everything. I was completely shocked.

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><p>"<em>Calliope?" I hesitantly call out to my wife as I enter the apartment, which looked a heck of a lot different than when I left. The apartment had been turned into something you'd see in a Martha Stewart magazine. I slowly walk further into the room taking everything in.<em>

"_I'm in here." Calliope's voice echoes through the apartment, coming from Sofia's room._

_I hang up my jacket and drop my bag by the door before making my way to my daughter's bedroom. I'm met by the sight of my two favourite people in the entire world sitting the rocking in the far corner of the bedroom; Sofia sitting in Calliope's lap who was holding a book, obviously reading Sofia her nightly bedtime story._

"_Hey honey, how was work?" Calliope says with a smile._

"_It was good, lots of happy endings today." I say walking up to them then taking a seat on the floor in front of them and begin to play with Sofia's toes. This of course elicits a response in the form of a giggle from Sofia and a chuckle from Calliope. "I could say the same thing to you, so much for a day off huh?"_

"_Yeah, about that," She chuckles nervously, "I couldn't help myself. I wanted Sofia's first to special so I kinda went all out."_

"_I can see that." I giggle, just as Sofia starts to get fussy, crying to get out of Calliope's arms. "Come here, boo." I put my arms out for Calliope to hand her to me. She stops crying as Calliope puts her in my arms._

"_Come here." Calliope says as she taps her hand on her knee, signalling for me to take a seat in her lap. "I want to talk to you about something."_

"_Okay," I hesitantly stand up, slightly nervous because her voice is quite serious. I take a seat in Calliope's lap and she wraps her arms firmly around my waist. "Is it something serious because you sound," _

_She cuts me off before I get the chance to finish my sentence. "No, baby it's nothing really serious I just want your opinion on something. I'm sorry for decorating the apartment without you, I just couldn't help myself. I just couldn't sit around the apartment doing nothing. I should have waited, I'm sorry."_

"_It's okay, you know that I'd probably mess everything up and the place would look like a state and you'd get mad at me." I chuckle, "It's perfectly okay. Now what is this thing you want to talk about?"_

"_Well, Christmas is only little more than a week away and this is our first as a family and I was hoping that we could talk about traditions, because I'm sure what I grew up with and what you grew up with is different. So I wanted to discuss what we were going to do as a family."_

"_That sounds like a wonderful way to spend the rest of the evening but I say we put this little monkey to bed and we'll talk okay?" I say before placing a kiss on the top Sofia's full head of black hair._

"_I like the sound of that plan. I'll put her down and you can go get changed then we'll talk okay?" She brushes all my hair to one side in order to kiss the back of my neck._

"_No, I'll put her down. I haven't seen her all day. You go out and get yourself a nice glass of wine and I'll join you in a minute, okay?" I whisper trying not to wake Sofia who has quickly fallen asleep in my arms. I look down at my daughter in my arms and I can't help but smile. Every day she looks more and more like Calliope that it's almost unbelievable. _

_I end up meeting her in the living room fifteen minutes later due to the fact Sofia had thrown a small fit when I took her out of my arms. She is lying down on the couch, a Christmas décor magazine in her hand, waiting for the time alone we've both been craving over the past few days; working opposite overtime in order to get Christmas day off was definitely beginning to get to the both of us._

_I kneel down just in front of her face next to the couch, causing her to tear the magazine away from her face, revealing half of my favourite set of beautiful brown eyes. "I missed you." I say, taking a moment to simply bask in the beauty that was Calliope._

"_I missed you too." Her voice is soft and calming as she leans forward, placing a kiss on my forehead. "Are you planning on joining me?" She asks, pulling away so that once again I can see her beautiful eyes._

"_Of course, I do." I can't help but grin at her as I stand up. She pulls herself close to the back of the couch making room for me. I lay down next to her, assuming our usual movie night position of Calliope wrapping her arm firmly around my waist holding me while she sit up on her elbow resting her head on her palm, and me curling up as close possible to her while tangling our legs together._

"_So I was thinking, I don't really know a lot about what your family does for Christmas considering me having to work our first Christmas together and the whole Africa situation we've never really had a Christmas together." I can automatically sense the nervousness in her voice, the smooth talking badass that everyone else saw was nowhere to be found._

"_You have a very valid point there, Calliope. I could say the same about yours, I don't really know what they do but I could guess if I had too." I say calmly, hoping to calm her nerves._

"_Growing up there was a lot of things we did at Christmas." The nerves in her voice were slowly disappearing as she spoke. "We had family dinner on Christmas Eve then went to evening mass. Christmas day we got up went to church once again then came home and opened our presents, my family from all over Miami would come over for dinner then we'd go to one of their houses for supper, they rotated every year." _

"_It sounds like a very hectic couple of days." I reply, I can't help but hope that in the future our house doesn't turn into some sort of venue for a Christmas festival._

"_I know, I always found it overwhelming as a child and I really don't want that for Sofia. I know that our families live far away and that we do have somewhat of a family at the hospital but I think that it would be nice to have Christmas just be us and Sofia, and well Mark I guess. At least for now, maybe when she gets older we could take visits to Miami or Annapolis to visit our parents. What do you think?" With the posing of her question, the vulnerable side of Calliope has returned once again._

"_I think that just you, me and Sofia sounds great. I suppose I can put up with Mark for one day, he gets Christmas day but Christmas Eve is just us and our daughter, okay?" I can feel her nodding behind me, prompting me to continue. "Because in my family, we really only have one tradition. And that's that we get to open one present on the night be Christmas. I've always found that it made Christmas more fun. It always made me more anxious for the next morning. Surprisingly enough it made it easier to go to sleep, I wasn't one of those kids who keep calling out to their parents to ask if Santa had been there yet every ten minutes."_

_Calliope chuckles, I can feel the warmth of her breath on the back of my neck, inevitably sending shivers down my spine. "So just you, me and the kid, huh? I like the sound of that. We can bring Sofia out for a quick walk so she can see all the Christmas lights around the neighbourhood, then we can come for a nice glass of hot chocolate with warm milk for Sofia and open our one present. How does that sound?"_

"_The best thing I've heard all week." I giggle. _

"_Good." She says cheerfully, placing a kiss on the back of my neck. "I want to show you something okay?" Her voice is barely above a whisper as she begins to sit up. I simply nod in response, untangling our legs so that we can both sit up. Calliope takes my hand, helping me up off the couch then leads me to just in front of the Christmas tree. "What do you see?"_

"_A Christmas tree that I have absolutely no idea how you managed to get in here." I chuckle._

"_Okay, I get that but it's not quite what I was going for. What's missing?" _

_I scan the tree looking for empty spaces between the rows of popcorn, lights, and bulbs but find none. It is only after I get to the last bulb near the top of the tree do I see what she was referring to. The top of the tree was bare, no traditional angel or somewhat modern star adorning the peak of the tree. _

"_There's nothing at the top." I say hoping it was the right answer so was going for._

_She lets go of my hand and turns toward the small table sitting next to the window. As Calliope turns back around my eyes are drawn to the most beautiful tree topper I had ever seen that was carefully being held in her hands. The star was obviously made from pure gold and accented with real gems of ruby and emerald; intricate patterns cut through its surface reflecting light onto the wall._

"_Calliope, it's beautiful." I was absolutely shocked by its magnificence._

"_It was my great-grandmother's given to her by my great-grandfather as a first Christmas present as husband and wife. She gave it to my Abeula when she married my Abeulo, who eventually passed it onto me when she passed away. She told me that someday I was going to find someone special to share my life with and that they'd the brightest star in my sky, that they would help lead me to amazing things. I never used it because I always thought that I'd never find that person. I had always thought that she had just said those things because she wanted to seem wise, but clearly she was right. She would have loved you, I know it. I guess that's why I saved it all those years, for you." There are tears streaming down her face as she carefully places the star in my hands, before wrapping her hands around my own. "I want you to put it on the top."_

"_Really?" Tears are now streaming down my face, as I am completely taken aback by Calliope's story . _

"_Really, Arizona, I want you to do it." She lets go of my hands, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me close enough to place a kiss on my forehead. "I always want it to be you."_

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><p>So here I am, sitting on the floor of my apartment sipping hot chocolate with my daughter in my lap on Christmas Eve staring up that the star on the top of our first Christmas tree as a family.<p>

"Okay so who wants to open their present first?" Calliope says as she takes a seat on the floor beside me.

"I think that we should let Sofia open hers first, considering she is the child here." I say with a chuckle.

"You have a very valid point there, baby, but Miss Sofia has fallen asleep in your lap once again." Calliope chuckles slightly before taking a sip of her hot chocolate. "So how about you open your present first?"

She puts her mug on the floor and leans forward and grabs a small black velvet cover box from beneath the tree. "This is for you." She gives me a megawatt smile as she passes me the box.

I carefully put down my own mug, before making sure Sofia was secure in my lap then taking the box from Calliope. I can't help but gasp as I open the box.

"I've had this for a long time. I bought it just before I brought up having kids. You asked me first so I never really got the chance to give it to you. So I thought now would be a good time." Her voice is so vulnerable, like a child.

The box reveals the most beautiful ring I have ever seen; a diamond inlayed between to blue topaz stones with intricate Celtic knots going down the sides of the ring. "Calliope, it's beautiful."

"For my beautiful wife." She places a kiss on my temple, taking my left hand in hers. "May I?"

"Of course, you can." Tears are now forming in the corners of my eyes as she takes the ring out of the box. She takes my wedding band off before replacing it with my engagement ring, slipping it back in front of it. "I love you."

Calliope gives me a wide smile with a chuckle, "I love you too." She moves closer, placing a kiss on my lips; her lips tasting like chocolate and marshmallows.

We're interrupted by a content squawk from a now wide awake Sofia. "Hey baby girl, don't worry you're not missing out. Your present's next." I say with a grin as I pull Sofia up into my arms, blowing a raspberry on her cheek, eliciting a loud giggle. "Can you hold her?"

"No problem." She takes Sofia from my arms.

"Well this is Sofia's present from me, I thought I'd save the stuff from us until tomorrow because this is a gift for Sofia but technically it's for you and her. Sound good?" I ask.

"Whatever you say, Arizona." She says with a chuckle as she begins playing with Sofia, bouncing her up and down.

"Okay, Sofia. Here you go, boo." I pass a soft square wrapped in candy can striped wrapping paper.

She lets out yet another content shriek, shaking the present like a rattle, her fingers tearing slightly through the paper. "Here, let Mommy help you." Calliope takes hold of Sofia's tiny little hands, beginning to help her tear through the paper.

The look on Calliope face as she opens up the t-shirt is one I'll always remember. The pure joy on her face, the love in her eyes will forever be burnt into my brain. "Best big sister ever." She says, reading the name tag on the t-shirt I had bought for Sofia; her voice soft and sweet.

She looks at me with her big brown eyes, "Really?"

"Really. I'm pregnant." I scoot closer, leaning back against the couch. I wrap my arms them, and I have my entire world in my arms.

Calliope leans back into my arms, her head falling in the crook of my neck. "Best Christmas present ever."


	4. D: Dog

Hey y'all, thanks for the feedback and support on the last one, it definitely makes writing easier and more enjoyable. I'm sorry for taking so long to post, I've had a really rough week. I hope you guys enjoy this one as well. Once again _italics are a flashback_, **and bold is Callie's POV**.

**Dog**

I pace back and forth the apartment living room, just as I have done for the past hour since I've gotten home; Sofia's eyes following me across the room from her bouncy chair sitting on the floor. "I know, boo. Mama did something really spontaneous. I know, I know, Mommy's going to be mad."

"What am I going to be mad about?" Calliope walks through the front as my mouth comes to a close. My eyes are immediately drawn to her. One of her eyebrows is quirked in typical Calliope fashion as she shuts the door with her foot.

"Calliope, you're home early." I'm certain that the shock and fear is quite clear in my voice and on my face.

Her face completely changes at the sight of what I've done. "Arizona Elizabeth Robbins, what the hell were you thinking?" Her voice is just loud enough to be considered a yell, obviously trying not to upset Sofia.

"I know, I know, I just couldn't help myself. And you should have seen the look on Sofia's face. She got to excited, she kept smiling and laughing. It was one of the most adorable things I've ever seen." I reply, because it all honesty every word I said was true.

* * *

><p>"<em>Let's get going, boo. We've got to go home and make dinner for Mommy." I say to Sofia who was sitting in the cart. Walking out of the grocery store a happy squeal for my daughter catches my attention causing me to look around.<em>

"_Doggie!" Sofia points to the bulletin board in the entrance to the store; she starts giggle and can't stop smiling._

_I turn my head to find Sofia was in fact correct in her outburst. "Yes, Sofia that is a doggie. Good job, sweetie." I bend down and place a kiss on her forehead._

"_Doggie! Doggie!" Sofia squeals once again, she begins squirming in the cart trying to get out._

"_Okay, sweetie. I'll let you out." I say picking her up out of the cart. She instantly tries to get out of my arms, trying to grab at the picture of the dog on the bulletin board. _

_I move closer to the board so that she can touch the photo; as I do I take the time to read the advertisement. __**Home needed! Three year old female Irish Setter named Maggie. House trained, great with kids and other dogs. Need for home, moving.**_ _I can tell instantly that this dog would fit perfect with our family._

"_You want the doggie, Sofia? Do you?" I ask excited fully well knowing that she'd say yes._

"_Momma, yea!" She says excitedly._

"_Okay, boo." I say taking one of the numbers from the poster. I kiss her forehead once again before putting her back in the cart. "Let's go get ourselves a doggie."_

* * *

><p>Calliope picks up Sofia out of her bouncy chair, putting her on her hip. "I know she's cute, she's our daughter, but how do you expect us to be able to take care of a dog right now. You're four months pregnant, Sofia is just over a year old and we're both working full time and I'm working overtime in order to build up extra holiday time so that I can take some time off to with you guys when the baby comes. How do you expect us to able to do this?"<p>

"I guess I never thought that through entire but I know we can do it. It's a dog, Calliope. You and I both know that we're going to get a house really soon so we will have room. You haven't seen her with Sofia, she's great. It's so adorable. And not having the time, we will make time or find time, we always do. You know that."

"Arizona," I can immediately feel worrying in her tone. "I don't know about this. I"

I cut her off because I can exactly what she's going to say. "I know, Calliope but remember the big picture. We can do this, I know we can, and we will. You want to do this, I know you're scared but we wanted this remember. We wanted kids, dogs, and chickens. So we can do this."

I can see her gaze shift from my face to Maggie who was sitting on the rug next to the couch, only about four feet away from Sofia's bouncy chair. "She really is good with Sofia?" I can see the worry in her eyes starting to dissipate but the nerves are still there.

"I promise, just watch okay?" I give my wife her favourite dimpled smile, taking Sofia into my arms. I put her back into her bouncy seat before calling out to Maggie. "Maggie, come here girl." I pat my hand next to Sofia's bouncy chair.

Maggie carefully gets up off of the rug, walking over to me and Sofia. "Give Sofia kisses, Maggie. Kisses." I say knowing that once Calliope sees this she'll be a goner.

Maggie quickly comes very close to the two of us, sitting down between Sofia and me. She slowly leans over and licks the side of Sofia face making her laugh happily. "Good girl, Maggie, good girl." I place a kiss on the top of her head, rubbing her back.

I look up at Calliope to gauge her reaction. The happiness in her eyes is undeniable. "I don't know about this, Arizona, we'll see." She gives me a very small smile before heading towards our bedroom.

No matter how much I wanted to follow her I knew better; I know from past experience to just let her go. I pick Sofia up from her bouncy chair, pulling her into my arms. "Let's go have a sat down on the couch, boo. I can see Mommy's having a difficult time on this one, do you agree?"

I make Sofia's little hand give me a tiny thumbs up in agreement. "I'm glad you think so." I say before giving her a kisses all over her face, making her giggle once again.

"How can you do that?" Calliope says as she walks back into the room, wrinkling her nose.

"Do what?" I reply; slightly confused at what she taking about.

"Kiss her like that after the dog just drooled all over her." I can see the slight disgust on her face.

I can't help but roll my eyes; I thought that I was going to be the most overprotective parent in the history of the universe but no, that was turning out to be Calliope's title. "Okay, for one, Maggie didn't drool all over her she gave her a kiss, and for two, any germs that would hurt Sofia can't come from Maggie because she had all of her shots against human diseases and anything else that would hurt the dog would be species specific and therefore wouldn't hurt Sofia. See, not so scary any more is it?"

"Well, when you put it that way, no, it's not." She says as she enters the kitchen, turning on the kettle.

"So, in that case can we keep her?" I ask, hoping she'll just say yes.

"Arizona, stop." Her voice is now firm and I can feel the anger seeping out of her mouth. "You keep acting like a child about this. It needs to stop, please. I said we'll see, which means we'll see how it goes over the next couple of days, okay?" The tone of her voice is now less angry but her annoyance is stil present.

"Okay." I manage to squeak out, pulling Sofia to closer to me, before beginning to turner into a blubbering mess; my hormones obviously getting the better of me. Tears begin to form in my eyes, my nose begins to run, and I start to shake; sobbing.

"Arizona?" Calliope calls out to me, her back obviously still towards me by the tone of her voice. I hear can barely hear the sound of the kettle boiling over my crying. Sofia puts her hand on my cheek and lets out a loud cry, trying to catch Calliope's attention.

"Arizona?" She says, turning around, before letting out a gasp. "Hey, hey it's okay." Calliope rushes over, quickly wrapping her arms around me and Sofia.

I bury my head into Calliope's curls; I want nothing more than to fast-forward this moment and go to a place in time where it's just me, her, our children, and Maggie. I want to fast-forward the fear and worry.

"I'm sorry." I whisper into the crook of her neck, "I-I should have asked." I'm certain she can feel my hot tears running down the soft skin of her chest.

"It's okay, just relax, it's okay." She whispers into my ear, pulling me closer; I can feel her warm breath on my cheek. I try to speak again but she shushes me, "This is your family, you get to start parts of our life together, like when I asked you to still be in my life when you came back from Africa. No matter how mad or upset you were about what had happened I knew that I wanted you in my child's life and mine, no matter what. Just know that this is just that, on a much smaller scale of course, but it is. So it's okay, everything is okay."

I think about what she's said; it's strange the way she's explained it but it makes sense to me, to someone else who doesn't know Calliope the way I do may say she sounds crazy but to me it makes sense.

"Okay." It is the only word I can think to say. I simply want to bask the awe that is Calliope.

"I promise I'll seriously consider the dog, but just give me a day or two okay?" She tilts her head so that she is able to give me a kiss on the cheek.

I once again say okay before slowly pulling slightly away from her.

"Let's get to bed. I think we've both had a really long day." She brushes my hair out of my face before placing a kiss on the top of Sofia's head of curls.

"I think that's a great idea." I slowly untangle myself from Calliope's arms.

* * *

><p><strong>I am awaked from my usual deep sleep by the sound of Sofia's cries coming from the baby monitor on the bedside table on my side of the bed; it was my turn to be on Sofia duty tonight.<strong>

**Before I even the get chance to get out of bed, I watch Maggie jump from her spot at the foot of our bed next to Arizona's feet and sprint surprisingly quietly out of our room. After pulling myself out of bed and arriving at my daughter's room I can't help but laugh.**

**Maggie is sitting right in front of Sofia's crib, her nose poked as far as she can get it between the rungs of the crib, while Sofia laughs as she pats her on the nose.**

"**Hey Sof, everything okay now?" I ask bending over her crib, smoothing down her hair. Sofia keeps on laughing, so I take that as a yes. I lean back over the crib, looking down at Maggie before scratching behind her ears. "Good girl, Maggie. Mommy's going to go back to bed now, Sof."**

**I receive no protests from Sofia so I slowly edge my way out of the room. As I crawl into bed, Arizona begins to stir, turning over so that her body is facing mine. I can't help but brush the hair out of her face so that I am able to see every freckle across the bridge of her nose, everything that made Arizona "Arizona".**

**I wrapped my arms around her, holding her as close to me as possible. "She can stay."**

"**Really?" Arizona mumbles sleepily, though her surprise is easily detectable in her voice. **

"**Really." I whisper in her ear before placing a kiss on her forehead. **

"**Thank you." She places a kiss on my neck. **

"**You're welcome, baby." They are the last words spoken as we soon fall asleep embraced in each other's arms. **


	5. E: Excited

I'm glad y'all enjoy the last one. It was surprisingly difficult to write; writer's block unfortunately got the better of me. I'm sorry for taking so long, between work and family things I haven't had the time or the energy to write. Hopefully things will get back to normal soon. Once again thanks for your support!

**Excited**

I can't help but pace back and forth the apartment as I wait for Arizona to finish getting ready. We had been dancing around this for weeks, debating on whether to do this or not. Before Sofia was born we had agreed we'd rather not know. But surprisingly enough this time around we couldn't agree for the life of us.

Arizona was iron-clad on her decision that she didn't want to know for weeks. But that was quickly changed once she realized that when we found ourselves a new home redecorating would probably be required for both Sofia and the baby's new rooms. Where Sofia was born so prematurely we hadn't gotten the chance to paint Sofia's room before she was born and strangely enough we had kept it the same color it had been when it was our bedroom; we had moved into Cristina's room soon after she had moved out in order for us to have an ensuite bathroom.

I surprisingly enough wanted to know as soon as possible. I wonder if it was the accident that made this time around different. But I'd never know, seeing I was unconscious for Sofia's birth and for the first couple days of her life I hadn't known she was alive, able to live outside the protection of my body. I remember hearing for the first time that I had a daughter. Arizona had taken hold of my hands, and placed a kiss on my forehead before looking me straight in the eye and telling me. I can still remember the look in her eyes, the love was pouring out as she described our daughter.

The possibility of knowing now was too enticing to wait another three months when we could be certain right now. Knowing that I could know whether I was going to have a boy with a mop of golden hair running around the back yard following Sofia all the while making airplane or dirt bike noises or a little girl who Sofia would likely treat like her own personal doll.

My thoughts are pleasantly interrupted by the sound of Arizona's foot falls coming down the apartment's short hallway. "Calliope?" She calls out, her voice showing her obvious annoyance with something or another.

"Yes dear?" I reply, turning on my heels as I stop pacing. Now face to face with my wife, I honestly can't help but laugh. Arizona is standing there, shoes untied and seeming much bigger than she was last night when I went to work. She had surprisingly _popped_ in the matter of less than twelve hours.

I had went to work to do an overtime six hour shift at nine and didn't arrive home until around quarter after four this morning because I had been pulled into surgery. I crawled into bed as soon as I had arrived home, Arizona was sound to the world in our bed when I went to sleep and I didn't see her again until now. She had been in the shower once I had woken up so I visited Mark across the hall to use his in order for us to be on time for our appointment. I had taken Sofia with me to visit Mark, fully well knowing that Arizona had arranged for him to babysit during our appointment.

I have been pacing back and forth ever since; I had gotten ready after my shower at Mark's while leaving Sofia with him.

"Please?" Is all she says, giving me a small puppy pout, obviously too embarrassed to ask what she needed.

"Of course, babe." I say with a sympathetic smile, I knew how much the fact that she couldn't do certain things by herself and that her OR hours being slowly cut back due to the pregnancy were really affecting her. She tried to hide it most of the time, but it was times like these when she took off the cheery mask everyone else saw I could see tell how much it got to her.

I walk over to her and kneel in front of her. After tying her shoelaces I couldn't help but pause for a moment, placing my hands on her belly. "Are you excited?" She asks; her tone audibly more calm and cheerful.

"Of course, aren't you?" I reply, looking up at her with a smile.

"I am, but that doesn't mean I'm not nervous." Arizona says, biting her lip like a nervous five year old.

I place a kiss on her belly before standing up, I then put my hands on her hips bring us close together as I possibly can before giving her a kiss on the forehead as well. "I know, honey, but you can't let the nerves be greater than the excitement. Everything is going to be okay, and even if it's not then we're going to deal with it together. Okay?"

She looks up at me through her lashes; I can see waves stirring in her ocean blue eyes. "Come on, where's that super magic smile I love, huh?" I ask, brushing her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear; hoping it'll at least give me a hint of that smile.

As I had hoped, her cheeks begin to blush and a large dimpled smile begins to cross her face. "There's my girl." I place yet another kiss on her forehead. "You ready to go now?"

"I think so." She gives me a quick kiss on the lips before, surprisingly, beginning to lead me out the apartment door.

* * *

><p>"Robbins-Torres?" An OB-GYN nurse calls out to us, letting us know that Addison was finally ready to see us. We had been sitting in the waiting room for close to an hour, Arizona leaning back against my shoulder while I rubbed her arm; she was currently experiencing unwavering heartburn and nausea, I could tell all she wanted right now was to be home in bed.<p>

I raise my hand letting the nurse know we had heard her. I slowly unwrapped my arm from around my wife, getting up off of the bench myself before helping her onto her feet. "You excited now?" I ask, hoping that this time there'll be no worry or fear in her eyes, only love and excitement.

As I look at her I'm surprised to see a genuine heart-warming smile on her face. "Definitely." The pure joy she was feeling, despite her physical discomfort, was completely visible in her face.

"I'm so sorry this took so long!" Addison says as she ushers us into an exam room, shutting the door behind her.

"Relax, Addie." I say, helping Arizona sit up on the exam table. "Just as long as Peanut in there doesn't decide to shy away, then everything is fine." I chuckle, trying to keep Arizona as relaxed as she currently is.

"Seems like you've got a nickname for this one already, huh?" Addison asks Arizona with a warm smile, obviously trying to help me achieve my goal.

"Yeah, we do." She gives her a small slightly nervous smile. "Calliope came up with this one."

"Then likely it'll stick," Addison laughs as pulls up my wife's file on her iPad. "Okay, let's get down to business then."

Arizona nods like a child intently listen to their parents, causing me to chuckle a little. "We're sure about this right?" I ask her because I know how much she dislikes having to do things she doesn't really want to do.

"Not a doubt in my mind." She says, taking my hand in hers intertwining our fingers together as Addison prepares for the ultrasound. I feel a slight squeeze of Arizona's hand as Addison places the gel on her stomach and I can't help but gently squeeze back; it had become sort of a ritual of comfort between the two of us, if one of us did it then the other would do it back.

I can immediately feel tear prick in my eyes as one of my most favourite sounds in the world echoes through the room. I can feel Arizona's eyes on me before I see them; I turn my head to find her big clear blue eyes staring straight at me, tears forming in them to mirror my own.

"You two ready?" Addison asks before she's about to begin.

I don't look at her because Arizona's eyes are telling me what she wants but that she's slightly too embarrassed to ask. So I ask for her, "Uh, Addie can you just write it down and give it to me and we'll find out when were at home?"

"Not a problem." She says with yet another warm smile as she begins the ultrasound.

Within a few minutes Addison passes me a slip of paper and we're out the door. "You want me tell you?" I ask as we enter the empty elevator, Arizona swiftly presses the button for the ground floor as the door closes behind us.

"Yes, I do." Arizona gives me a wide grin; she clearly knows what she wants. "I thought we'd uphold the tradition you know?" She lets out a childlike laugh that immediately warms my heart.

"Well," I say, pulling the slip of paper out of my pants pocket and begin to open it.

"Don't!" Arizona quickly snatches the paper out of my hand before I get a chance to see or read anything on the paper. I can't help but stare at her in confusion; her face isn't contorted in anger but is flush in embarrassment. "Not here. I don't want to find out in an elevator again. Not that finding out that Sofia was bound to exist wasn't special because of course it was. It was one the happiest moments of my entire life even if I didn't show it then. I just don't want it to happen here, I don't want every special moment we have to happen in a hospital, you know?"

I continue to look at her and see nothing but innocence and love. I can understand exactly what she means as I scan back over important memories in or relationship; the first time I called her my girlfriend, our first Valentine's Day, our first Christmas, and the list could have gone on and on.

"Okay." I say, accenting the word with a kiss on her forehead before slowly taking the piece of paper gripped in her hands and placing it back in my pocket. "Then where would you like to go then?"

* * *

><p>"How about now?" I ask hoping that she'd find this the perfect place.<p>

"Here is perfect." Arizona takes my hand as she sits down on the bench next to me, leaning her head back against my shoulder.

"Good." I lean forward, slightly placing a kiss to her temple. I had taken her to the bench where we frequently ate our lunch together during the first year of our relationship. "So here we go."

I put my hand into my pants pocket and pull out the small slip of paper once again. I open the piece of paper and I can't help but grin from ear to ear.

"So what are we having, dear?" Arizona asks, without even seeing her face I can tell there is a smile spreading across it.

"Looks like there's going to be lots of hair braiding and pig tails in our future, love." I say, placing a kiss on her temple, still smiling.

"Really?" Arizona leans forward, turning her upper body so that we're face to face. A huge smile is spread across her face, dimples out in full force.

"Really."

I can't help but think of a little toddler looking just like Arizona did as a child running around chasing an older version of Sofia around the back yard, Sofia's hair in a French braid and our newest addition wearing braided pigtails in typical Arizona fashion.

"I'm excited." She whispers, a smile still on her lips.

"Me too, I'm excited to see Sofia teach her things that we will teach her. I'm excited to see her go to Sofia with things she's unable to come to us about because she knows that her sister will always be there for her. I'm excited to see them playing in the backyard, I'm excited for everything."

"We are going to have awesome kids, aren't we?" Arizona whispers, she is now only a breath's distance away.

I can't help but now capture her lips with my own; the temptation of the closeness between us has become unbearable. The taste of her strawberry vanilla lip gloss and something that is distinctly Arizona never fails to drive me crazy, sending shivers down my spine and electric shocks through by body.

As I force myself to pull away, I whisper my response against her lips. "The best."

"I love you, Calliope." Arizona places her hand on my cheek, brushing her thumb against my cheekbone.

"I love you too."


End file.
